Thread by @MiningNS

Ever wonder about #geology in your area of #NovaScotia? Why the land looks that way? What #minerals are there? How a rock outcrop was formed?
Post pictures of what you're curious about, tell us where it is and what you're wondering, and we will try to get you an answer!
#nspoli

Thanks to Jason for taking us up on our offer to answer #geology questions about #NovaScotia! He asked via Facebook whether these pictures from #Inverness Beach show coal and gypsum. Here is our answer:
#nspoli #NS #minerals #mining #CapeBreton

We can’t be sure without seeing them in person but you're likely right that the pics are coal and gypsum. There's a long history of coal mining there - nearby #CabotLinks golf course is built on a former coal mine. Coal was first discovered there in 1863 and was mined til 1958.

The area is underlain by rock formed during the Carboniferous Period (359-299 million years ago). Carboniferous means "coal-bearing." It’s the period during which NS’ amazing coal deposits formed. Due to tectonic plate movement, NS started that period in the southern hemisphere.

NS coal formed during that tropical period as plants and other organic matter grew in the swampy areas and lagoons that covered much of earth at that time. As the plants and other life forms died, they drifted down to the bottom of the swamps, slowly decomposed, and formed peat.

The peat became buried and compressed under the earth’s surfaces and over millions of years and through the forces of heat and pressure, the compressed peat became coal.

There are also gypsum outcrops along the shore at #CabotLinks so your pic is probably gypsum related to them. Geologically, there's contact in that area between the Inverness formation (i.e. sandstone and shale) and the Windsor Group (i.e. gypsum, limestone and anhydrite).

According to @cabotlinks, Inverness Beach’s average water temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius, making it home to the warmest ocean waters north of the Carolinas, so maybe a trip to the beach is in order for both a swim and to see this great geology!

Thank you @ns_servicens for helping share educational info about Nova Scotia's geology. It's as important to understanding the world around us as chemistry, biology and physics and we need to promote it more.